The commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service says this is the last year his agency will impose a hiring freeze -- not because the IRS' budget situation has gotten any better, but because several consecutive years of freezes have brought the demographics of its workforce severely out of whack, with very few young employees in its ranks. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has more details.

The U.S. Postal Service's financial problems are widely known. The solutions are still in progress and may be years away. But the problems may not be management problems. Robert Shapiro is founder and chairman of Sonecon, and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the Postal Service's problems may be incentive problems.

Both the House and Senate's budget plans for fiscal 2016 aim to reduce the federal deficit. And to help do that, both plans include provisions to increase federal employee pension contributions. Jessica Klement is Legislative Director of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association. On In Depth with Francis Rose, NARFE said those and other provisions tantamount to a pay cut for federal employees.

The United States could find itself in military conflicts in three regions: Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The "Index of U.S. Military Strength" from the Heritage Foundation says the U.S. military is only well-equipped enough to protect American military interests in Europe. Dakota Wood is senior research fellow of defense programs at the Heritage Foundation, and editor of the Index of Military Strength. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained that and other findings from the Index.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is changing how it chooses future leaders. FEMA's leadership development program is trying to target employees for promotion that display true leadership skills, instead of just a mastery of technicial skills. David Robinson is FEMA's associate administrator of mission support. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained what those leadership skills look like and how the agency will use those to plan its future.

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com readers more information about the stories heard on the radio. In today's news, one person is dead and two injured after a shooting at the NSA, the VA cuts its disability claims backlog by 67 percent and Pentagon employees are trying out smartphones known for being spy-resistant.

A budget blueprint is through the Senate that has a topline similar to the White House's plan for FY 2016. But the details behind both the House and Senate plans look very different from President Barack Obama's, including major cuts to some domestic programs. David Hawkings is Senior Editor of Roll Call. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he broke down the potential for which plans might guide the future funding levels of your agency.

Federal agencies are continuously adding security upgrades to their buildings to better protect their employees. But some agencies plan their upgrades in ways that can hide how much money they spend. Mark Goldstein is director of physical infrastructure issues at the Government Accountability Office. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained ways to better plan those security upgrades to make sure agencies don't spend too much money on them.

The amount of federal employees under the age 30 is in decline. In 2014 the amount of millennials in the overall workforce hit an eight-year low at 7 percent. Bob Tobias is professor of Key Executive Leadership Programs at American University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the reason why young people are leaving the federal government may have something to do with organizational values.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter will propose a 401k-like retirement program for uniformed military personnel this week. USA today reports the goal is that everyone that leaves the military takes away a retirement fund, even if they don't stay in 20 years. Todd Harrison is senior fellow for defense budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he compared the idea to the work he's done on compensation and the work the Military Compensation Commission did.

Head of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, Adm. Mike Rogers, said having stronger offensive cyber capabilities would help prevent future cyber attacks. That's one of his latest messages to the Senate Armed Services Committee. Ron Marks is senior fellow for the Center for Cyber and Homeland Security at George Washington University. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said an having a cyber strategy that focuses more on offense, might wind up causing even more cybersecurity problems for federal agencies.

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com readers more information about the stories heard on the radio. In today's news, we learn about the TSA's criteria for screening passengers, a popular code-sharing website suffers a cyber attack and Defense Secretary Ash Carter pitches 401-k's for troops.

Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) is looking for collaboration from the think tank
community. He told Federal News
Radio back in January that his House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower
and Projection Forces wants more input from groups of think tanks working
together on issues of national defense and national security. At least one
effort is delivering on Chairman Forbes's wish -- and was -- before he even
expressed that wish. Danielle Pletka is senior vice president for foreign and
defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Rudy deLeon is
senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and former Deputy Secretary of
Defense. Danielle tells In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu why
their effort isn't just a collaboration between AEI and CAP.

The newest edition of the Virtual Enterprise Service Desk is now active on the desktops of airmen all across the Air Force. Version 2.0 includes capabilities that will make users more self-reliant, which will save the Air Force money. Lt. Col. Mark Reith, commander of the 690th Network Support Squadron, tells In Depth with Francis Rose how airmen will find some new power when they click on the vESD icon on their desktops.

Civilian agencies could spend about 10 percent more on IT than what was originally predicted in the fiscal 2015 budget. IDC Government Insights says the budget for civilian agencies is set at $43.6 billion for this fiscal year. But IT spending will likely reach about $48 billion by the end of this summer. Shawn McCarthy, a research director for IDC Government Insights, tells In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu what he found.

If Congress passes the defense acquisition reform bill, introduced by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry this week, it won't be enought to fix the defense acqusition system. And he's the first to admit that. But the legislation does attempt to chip away at what Thornberry views as clear problems, including a lack of clear lines of authority, and too much paperwork. Beth McGrath, federal practice director of Deloitte and former deputy chief managment officer for the Defense Department, tells In Depth with guest host Jared Serbu what she thinks of the bill.

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com readers more information about the stories heard on the radio. In today's news, the Senate passes it's budget plan and a group of congressmen want to reform the Secret Service.

The Navy is in the middle of a long push to overhaul its personnel practices. Navy officials think those practices are too rigid, and that they're based on concepts of talent management that are really outdated. Officials want new data analytics capabilities to help determine what's good and bad about the current system, and they're asking industry for help. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the details.

The fifth generation of the Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement contract at NASA releases some winners Thursday. Companies have been waiting for SEWP V for a long time now, so the release of the names is good news for the winners, and not so good news for the ones that aren't on the list. Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners, tells In Depth with Francis Rose we know so far about SEWP V.